Matt Reeves says the villain in The Batman Part II will be unlike any previously seen on screen.
Matt Reeves says the villain in The Batman Part II will be unlike any previously seen on screen
The director, 59, is set to helm the follow-up to his 2022 film The Batman, starring Robert Pattinson as the caped crusader, and has now promised its antagonist “never really been done in a film before”.
Matt also told Variety the upcoming movie’s story will shift its focus towards its hero Bruce Wayne, who will again be played by Robert, 39, after the first instalment placed greater emphasis on Batman’s early years as Gotham’s masked vigilante.
The film is due to begin filming in spring 2026, with a theatrical release planned for October 2027.
Matt said: “In a lot of the other films, which I love, once you get past the origin tale, which we didn’t quite do, but we did something that referred to his origins, then you start telling the Rogues Gallery story and that character’s sort of arch.
“But I never wanted to lose Robert at the center of these stories, and so that is really what we set our aim on.”
Speaking about how the sequel’s approach shaped the choice of villain, Matt added: “The antagonist for The Batman Part II has never really been done in a movie before.”
He said secrecy around the project is paramount, revealing: “We put (the script) into a secret pouch that literally has a lock on it with a code.
“Robert was in New York at the time, and everything is high security.”
Matt’s first Batman film was released in March 2022 and proved a major box office success.
According to Warner Bros, it grossed more than $770 million worldwide, making it one of the highest-earning films of that year despite the lingering effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on cinemas.
The film earned over $134 million in its domestic US opening weekend, cementing itself as the second-biggest opening of 2022 at that point.
Internationally, it performed strongly in the UK, Mexico and Brazil, contributing to its global haul.
Starring alongside Pattinson were Zoë Kravitz as Selina Kyle, Paul Dano as Edward Nashton, Colin Farrell as Oswald ‘The Penguin’ Cobblepot and Jeffrey Wright as James Gordon.
The film’s commercial and critical success provided momentum for Matt and DC Studios to move forward with the sequel, which has been under development since shortly after its release.